Dwindling - 3 stone "guarantee"

I'm really upset and discouraged today. My weight loss has been very slow but it's now gone below the average of what I need to achieve the 3 st in 100 days "guarantee" (which I discover is not a guarantee but an average - and it's looking like I'll be one of those that balance out you big losers).

So I'm on a downward trajectory, steadily losing less every week, and it's looking more and more unlikely that I'll even achieve the 3st. I upped my walking significantly last week too so was hoping for more like 5lbs.

Any tips? I feel so upset about this and basically cried for 3 hours last night. I find the diet very hard and now I don't feel I'm getting the pay off either. I can shake off feeling miserable today either.

Not sure I'm doing this right but I worked out your average being at over 4lbs a week. If you stick to the diet and water 100% then you WILL lose 3 stone, you can't not! losses do change we have somone in our group who has lost 3 every week for the last 10 weeks and has now lost 3.5 stones with one more weighin to go. I lost 6 lbs a couple of weeks and 1lb another and yes it is disheartening but think would you have lost this much in such a short space of time on WW or another diet? Give it a couple more weeks and focus on the long term goal not what the scales say week to week.

It's hard I know, but think if you hadn't of done the diet now you'd weigh at least the same as you did 5 weeks ago maybe more, and that's an acheivement. Lost of things affect weightloss mostly give your body time to adjust to the massive change it's going through.

Don't be sad you have still done fantastically well - it's still difficult to predict who'll hit their 3 stone as your weight loss can fluctuate so much. You may find that as you settle into the diet you will lose more - I have friends who without cheating haven't lost or have even gained but then a week later have huge losses. Just keep going because you'll feel fantastic - you have lost 1 and 1/2 stone in 5 weeks - still amazing weight loss.

If you can drink more water then go for that, the bigger losers in my group are the ones that manage 6 litres a day - but spaced out rather than glugging some then nothing for ages. Also increasing your activity levels might help? At least that tends to be a mood booster also.

Try and stay positive and have a look at some other peoples weight loss records, even the faster losers have slow periods!

Aww sweetie - don't cry. This diet doesn't work like you think it will when you start out.
Plus - you ARE on target. My maths are a little dodgy - but your cumulative total loss for 5 weeks is 21.1lbs which gives you an average loss per week of 4.2lb.
Scientifically - the diet should burn off 3.5lbs of fat per week - BUT that does not mean that the first time you don't achieve at least 3.5lb loss in one particular week - that you won't reach your goal of 3 stone loss by end of foundation.
Look at any of the people who have finished foundation (especially if they record their weekly losses in their signature and you will see highs and lows all the way along the journey). I had a few "bad" weeks - 1.9, 0.5, 2.4 etc etc but still managed to lose 5 stone in foundation. It has a way of balancing out along the way.
Remember that if you have been "good" and not cheated, then you HAVE burnt off 3.5lbs of fat (min) this week. There are any number of factors that would affect the number on the scale at weigh in. i.e. bunged up, TOTM, excessive water intake prior to WI, water retention (my personal demon), etc etc etc. Remember - it is just a number. Your number (thanks to your hard work) is going down and down and down and before you know it - you will catch sight of yourself in a mirror and not recognise yourself.
Try to look at the big picture and not obsess about the numbers - you have to prepare yourself that once in a while, for no good reason, the scales are not your friend. In the end though - we all win the battle if you just stick with it.
Best of luck
laura

Unfortunately the numbers ARE as bad as I said as you can't take into account the first two weeks when you lose more than in the rest of the programme. So I'm gradually losing less and less each week.

Took a laxative on Saturday night, having been bunged up, with explosive effect, stopped drinking water 2 hours before WI, just finishing TOTM, don't think I'm retaining water. Can't seem to find an explanation other than very bad luck.

I've just commented on your blog so have a look there for some suggestions. By the end of my week 5, I had lost 16lbs but still managed to get to a 3stone2lb total at the end of Foundation (including the trip to NYC).

Having looked again here, your losses look good to me! DO NOT TRY TO PREDICT THE END RESULT - our biggest loser (in the first few weeks of Foundation) ended up being one of the lowest by the end.

Anyway, as I said, some reframing and thought records might help you feel better - mentally, at least - just so you can continue. It's important that you feel in charge not the other way round.

I would second all these comments. It is not a linear process. One woman in our group lost 3lbs each week and felt a bit discouraged by those of us with larger losses. Then about 6 weeks in she suddenly lost 6lbs in a week - and hadn't done anything different at all.

You say (on your blog) ...How can I fail at something that so many people have success at?

I fear it is our old friend crooked thinking at the heart of this; you want a guarantee it will work yet you are tortured by thoughts of failure. And your failure, at that.

You ARE losing weight, you ARE succeeding - it's already happening but maybe you don't really believe it? Or want to believe it (because if you can succeed at this, what else could you succeed at?!)The diet is not something outside of yourself, it's you in the driving seat (of it all, as it were)!

I really gave myself such a hard time with Foundation and certainly didn't acknowledge any losses until the end of Foundation. Not really. And then I was focused on the next stage - I never allowed myself to celebrate the mini goals en route.

You know that saying, we're so focused on the destination that we forget to take in the views en route...I just wonder if this is going on for you. Why is the 3 stone guarantee so important? Is it that you don't trust yourself (I know I didn't, if it helps) to achieve it?

LighterLife presses all our buttons - big time. In my opinion, it's so much more about our minds than the scales - so many times I realised it's SO not about the weight but the scales are our only gauge of whether it is working or not.

I don't know if this helps so I would just urge you to consider crooked thinking. It's SO incredibly powerful that, often, we don't even realise it's taking its hold.

Stay strong, Peridot, you WILL get there - you just have to believe it. And believe in you.

If you had really failed, do you know what? You wouldn't be writing about week five - you would have given up long ago...

I'm going to post this on minis and here - just in case you can't access one.

MiniMins.com is a weight loss support community helping each other on their weight loss journey. We have a multitude of forums, from Slimming World and Exante, to Success Stories. Click the logo at the top right to return to the forum home page at any time.